Certain goods, for example cigarettes, are packed in a flat, rectangularly shaped package whose width is less than its length, and require seal-strip segments to be connected across the top of each package with the free ends of the segment adhered to opposite sides of a package Conventionally, such segment extends in the lengthwise direction of a package. Using automatic packaging equipment, the packages are conveyed in a direction perpendicular to the length of each package past a station at which a segment is adhered to one side of each package. Conventionally, the line of packages moves intermittently; and segments are applied to the packages when the line is stationary.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved apparatus for applying seal-strip segments to packages travelling along a conveyor while the packages are moving.